Right By Your Side
by Efreak
Summary: Trowa Barton works at the Public Library and is very happy with his new found job. One day at work, he meets a young man named Quatre, and that’s where all the ‘trouble’ starts… AU, Trowa x Quatre.
1. Fangirl Attack

_Chapter One - Fangirl Attack  
__Rated: T  
__Warnings: shounen-ai  
__Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing._

**Summary:** Trowa Barton works at the Public Library and is very happy with his new found job. One day at work, he meets a young man named Quatre, and that's where all the 'trouble' starts… AU, Trowa x Quatre.

**A/N:** It's always been some sort of dream to me to become a writer one day. Now I'm not saying that I'll become one (likely not), but I really like it to post stories (still one now, though) on I mean, I was always like: oh my god, I'm never gonna post a story of mine... But, in the end, I decided that I should give it a try. So, here you go. Please be gentle on my grammar - English is not my first language - and enjoy.

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Chapter One - Fangirl Attack

It was a beautiful day, somewhere between spring and summer. In the center of the city, there was a huge Public Library, with a square and a marble fountain before it. On the big, stone stairs which led to the main entrance of the library, sat a tall young man with brown hair that fell over one eye.

He was eating his lunch, enjoying the sun which shone brightly that day. A lot of people had gathered around the fountain and most of them were in couples, and a few alone. There was even a group of friends (or family, the brown haired man couldn't tell), who held an entire picnic at the edge of the square, on the cold, hard stones. A small smile played upon his lips, when he thought about how great it was to have close friends and family.

He himself had never had a true family, except his older sister Catherine, who still worked at the circus where he used to work. And now, he worked for just two weeks, in the big building behind him. He actually liked it: it was quiet work and his colleagues in the library were nice to him. And he worked in the 'adult section' and not in the children section, which also was a big point in his favor. He didn't like working with kids, most of them annoyed the hell out of him and he was too quiet and too polite to say something about it. He always chuckled silently to himself when he saw colleagues dealing with annoying children, happy that he didn't have to do the job.

Half past one. His break was over. Trowa gathered his stuff together and walked the stairs up to the entrance, where he silently greeted the girl who worked behind the desk, Emily.

"Trowa, Mrs. Dolores asked me to say to you that you can start with the cataloguing of the science fiction section," she said to him, pointing towards a list with books.

"Oh, yeah." Trowa grabbed the list and started walking towards the SF section in the back. "Thanks, Emily."

"Anytime."

Trowa enjoyed the back of the library even more. It was rather dark there, with huge, wooden bookshelves and leather seats for the customers. The old smell of books was everywhere and most of the librarians didn't like working in the back because of that. He didn't mind it though. There also weren't a lot of customers: SF didn't seem too popular these days. No people who kept babbling to him about books that they were too stupid to find.

With a enthusiastic glitter in his eye (there was only one visible), he checked Mrs. Dolores list and started to place books on their rightful place.

**0o0**

"Uhm, excuse me, but I was wondering if you could help me…"

Trowa quickly turned around and left the cataloguing of the SF books for what it was. Customers were first, even if they were too stupid to find a book that they were looking for and was right for their very noses.

"I think I could help you, sir. What do you want to ask?" He tried to be as polite as he could, especially when he recognized the youngest and only son of the rich Winner family.

"Well, I can't find _'The Gundam Saga'_ by Heero Yuy. I tried looking here with the SF books first, but then I thought that perhaps, it could be with the historical books... I feel stupid for asking." He smiled a little nervously and ran a hand through his blond hair. "Have you got any idea where I can look?"

"I've just been working on cataloguing the SF section, so I'll check my list first to see if your book is on it. If it isn't, I'll ask Emily - the girl at the desk - if she can find it in the computer's database."

"Thank you very much." The eyes of the young heir of the Winner company shot a little frightened through the library, and then locked on a group of girls and some boys.

"I think I've got it, sir. It must be on the third bookshelf from the right, I'll help you find…"

"Oh, no! They found me!" The young man clamped himself to Trowa's arm. "Please, hide me!"

"Hide?" Trowa looked closely at the beautiful shaped face of the man, confused. "Why, sir?"

"You see those girls and boys over there? They've been following me all day, and when they're near me, they try to get an autograph or a date or a kiss or even a lock of my hair!" he cried out.

"You've been followed by stalkers?" Trowa looked down at the young Winner.

"Worse." He glared at the group of girls and boys. "Fangirls and fanboys. Don't you have some dark place or something to hide me 'til they're gone? They just keep coming!"

Trowa quickly looked around and found an old archive chamber next to a bookshelf, which looked more like a closet than a room. "Go in there, I'll cover for you."

"Thanks… uh….?" The young man arched his eyebrows friendly at Trowa before diving into the 'closet'.

"Trowa Barton." Trowa left the door open on a crack and one blue eye peeked through it, looking at him.

"Quatre Winner. Again, thanks a lot."

"Anytime. Now be silent, they're coming this way."

It was absolutely silent when Trowa was quasi working on his SF list and the group of fans approached him. One of the girls, with black pigtails, stepped forward and pulled Trowa at the sleeve of his emerald green vest.

"How can I help you?"

"We're looking for Quatre Winner, that supercute bishie!" She made a pose with her hands in the air and then continued her speaking like nothing had happened. "He went into this library, so he still must be here."

"Do you know where he is?" A boy with blue, spiky hair asked.

"No, I haven't seen him around here. He probably left soon after you came in, if you're sure that he went into the library."

"Really haven't seen him?" The pigtail girl glared at him with narrowed eyes before 'scanning' the whole area. "What if you're hiding him?"

"I'm not," Trowa said calmly, shooting his go-away-or-I'll-kill-you look at her. "I don't even know him."

"You're not really nice, are you?"

Trowa raised an eyebrow. "I don't think it's important for you to think I'm nice or not. I thought you wanted to find Quatre Winner and he's not here. That's the only thing that seems to matter to you guys." His voice was more monotone than ever.

"You're absolutely right," the girl suddenly said. "Come on, we're going. Don't think he's here."

The whole group left, but everyone kept looking around the area for something that seemed out of place. The pigtail girl walked on the front and the others followed her, determined to find the young Winner. Trowa waited patiently until they all were _out_of the library and then knocked on the door.

"You can come out now."

"Phew, that was close." Quatre rubbed his head and sneezed. "Sorry, it's rather dusty in there…"

There fell an awkward silence over the two young men and they both stared at the floor without saying anything for a few moments. Trowa was, in fact, thinking about the fangirls and fanboys. He could understand their behavior: Quatre was the most wanted man in the whole city (maybe even country), because he was rich, nice and good looking. That last part was something that he _had_ to admit to himself. He never looked at guys in that way, but Quatre looked very good indeed. He had grown a lot since the first time Trowa had seen him in the gossip magazines (about 15 years old then) and was almost as tall as he was. He had a long, slender figure, but was still muscular. And he hadn't even started about his hair and eyes…

Trowa realized he was staring. "I believe I know where _'The Gundam Saga'_ stands."

"Oh, really? Where?"

"Third bookshelf, I'll show you." Trowa turned around and started to walk, Quatre just one step behind him. Had he imagined, or had he seen a faint blush on the face of the other man? Maybe he shouldn't have stared at him so intensely. But he was handsome, that was a fact.

"Here you go. It was placed on the wrong shelf." He handed the book over to Quatre.

"Ah, thank you. I really wanted to read this book, you know. I even risked getting grabbed by fans…" He smiled faintly, but then, his face looked more serious. "Will I see you again, Trowa?"

"…" Trowa was stunned. This rich, famous and beautiful man asked him when he would see him again? Of course, his surprise wasn't readable on his face.

Quatre, who thought he'd offended the other man, bend his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, I just…"

"You didn't make me feel uncomfortable," Trowa answered quickly, "I was just surprised."

"Oh."

Silence.

"I work here every Monday 'till Friday from nine 'till five," Trowa said. Suddenly, a weird thought popped up in his head, a rather bold one for his doing, but he still said it. "And I'm starting the Save People From Fans club, so you'll always be welcome…"

Quatre's face beamed. A huge smile lay upon his features. "Thanks. I think we'll be friends someday." Still smiling, he turned on his heels and started to walk away from Trowa with the book in his hand.

"…?"

As if he knew that Trowa wondered about why he had said that they would be friends 'someday', he stopped right in his tracks and turned around. "I'm good with feeling things. Bye bye!"

"… Bye."

Trowa watched the figure of Quatre 'till he left the library, his blond hair swaying in the wind and the sun reflecting in his sea blue eyes. All the facts of Quatre were true to him now: he was rich (the clothing he was wearing must have cost a fortune), handsome _and_ nice. Trowa really wondered if he'd see him again.

**0o0**

A week had passed since the incident with Quatre and the fangirls (and boys) and Trowa had already given up the hope to see him again. The weather was still as beautiful as back then, and when he walked into the library on Friday, Emily called him, waving with the newspaper.

"Trowa, look! Our library is in the news in combination with Quatre Winner! He was in _our _library and look what he says about it…" She twirled around.

Trowa looked at the newspaper which was shoved under his nose by an overjoyed Emily. "Where?"

"Under _'Our weekly interview with Winner'_… It's about the city this time, what he thinks about it and stuff. Okay, go down, down… Right there! Public Library." Emily clapped her hands.

"Quatre Winner thinks that the Public Library is one of the best libraries he has ever seen and that the personnel is very kind and helpful towards customers." Trowa's eyes shot over the paper.

Emily screamed the next lines without reading it. "Quoting Q.W.: 'The library personnel is absolutely stunning, they help you with everything. I myself was being followed by a gang of… well, let's say 'fans', and one of the librarians helped me hiding. I won't say his name in this interview, but I thank him again for his helping. I would like to see him again, so I'll visit the library again, soon, I hope.' Wonderful, isn't it?"

Trowa was too stunned to say anything and stared at the paper.

"It's you, right? I just knew it, you're the only attractive male librarian around here and there's gossip that Quatre's gay…" Emily started whispering. "But you didn't hear that from me. Anyway, Quatre's like, totally nice!"

"I know," Trowa said. What mess was he getting himself into by only helping someone? _Well, you didn't just help him. You 'looked' at him. In _that_ way._

"Maybe he only wants to see you again because he just likes you as a friend… Quatre's very friendly too."

"I know."

"And he's handsome."

"…I know." Trowa folded the paper between his hands, his mind running around in circles. He didn't even see his other colleagues walking past him as they entered the library for their work.

"But of course, you talked to him after all! I only checked out his book… _'The Gundam Saga'_, that was it! Right?"

"…Yeah." He stood up abruptly, and left Emily alone with her joyfulness. He tossed the paper in a container and tried to concentrate on his work. _Like that would help to stop my wandering thoughts_, he thought sarcastically.

He was extremely silent that day, even more silent than otherwise. Quatre would visit the library soon again… When would that be?

**End Chapter One**

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**A/N**: Well, that was chapter one, folks. Oh, a note on the side: Mrs. Dolores owns the library and Emily is her niece, who works as a librarian at the Library. The story is starting a little slowly, but it takes time to build up a good relationship, right? This is some sort of prologue to the actual story.  
See that little button at the end of the page, with 'Review' and 'Go' on it? I wouldn't mind at all if you would hit that button and tell me what you think. Criticism is welcome. If you want to flame, please do so. People have a right for their own opinion, but I can strongly advise you to spend your time on something you actually like than flaming another person. 

Efreak.


	2. By The Fountain

_Chapter Two - By The Fountain  
__Rated: T  
__Warnings: shounen-ai  
__Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing._

**Summary:** Trowa Barton works at the Public Library and is very happy with his new found job. One day at work, he meets a young man named Quatre, and that's where all the 'trouble' starts… AU, Trowa x Quatre.

**A/N:** Chapter two will give everything a little more detail. Last time, it were Trowa's thoughts we heard, and now it will be Quatre's mind we'll get a look in. Thoughts are, of course, in italics. Enjoy!

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**Chapter Two - By The Fountain**

It was a bright night without any clouds: you could see all the stars very clearly, with a half full moon right in the middle. That white moon was reflected in the eyes of one of the few persons who still worked at 3.30 AM.

Quatre Winner was seated behind his desk, his eyes shooting over a letter from some far away person (this time in the oil business), who wanted to do business with his father's company.

"Don't you people ever learn…" He sighed and put the letter away with the less important stuff. His assistants could write a polite refusal tomorrow.

"Quatre-sama, are you still awake?" The rather large and dark head of Rashid appeared behind the door.

"Yeah, just checking on some things." Quatre smiled tiredly.

"I strongly advise you to go to bed. You've got an interview tomorrow with _'Popular'_."

"Oh, I almost forgot! Good of you to say so, Rashid."

"Anytime, Quatre-sama. I'll leave now and don't forget to go to bed!"

Quatre giggled. "You sound like a mother, not like a bodyguard and friend."

"I'm filling in here for a mother, since you never had one and all your sisters are away too," Rashid replied. "Now go to bed!"

"Yes, sir!" Quatre gathered his things and stood up, shutting off his computer. He stared some time at the floor, before looking Rashid in his eyes with a confused expression.

"What is it, Quatre-sama?"

"Rashid, have you ever been so intrigued by a person that you can't stop thinking about them?"

"I assume you mean the cute librarian," Rashid said with a wise expression.

Quatre blushed heavily. "That's not the point!"

"Quatre-sama, it's okay for you to like him."

The blonde man sat down on his chair again and sighed deeply. "I just don't know if I like him! I mean, I like interacting with other people a lot, I don't think that I ever want to be alone, but… I never felt a sort of 'zzzoing' when I looked someone in the eyes."

"Zzzoing?" Rashid raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know how to describe it. I just walked up to him to ask something about a book I wanted to borrow… And he looked me in the eyes and his eyes were… green."

"People's eyes usually have colors."

"Rashid!" Quatre cried out. "It's not funny!"

"Do I look amused?" Rashid smirked.

"Yeah, you do." Quatre stared out of the window without seeing anything and started to tap his fingers on his desk: something he did when he felt nervous or uncertain about something.

"I already said what had to be said: it's okay for you to like him. Being attracted to a member of your own sex is not a crime."

"But I have an image to hold up! I'm a celebrity in town, and there're a lot of people who look up to me. What if I completely ruin my status and the superb example I am to the people?" He shook his head and looked out of the window again.

Rashid tapped his shoulder and stared him deeply in the eyes, before saying: "Don't. Say. Such. Things."

"Eh?" Quatre's eyes went a little big and he stared back at Rashid, completely surprised.

"Before you got this position, back in Arabia… You told me once that you can't stop yourself from liking somebody or falling in love, even if that person isn't really the right one for you. You can't stop the whole process from feeling 'zzzoing' when you see someone. That are the exact words that you said." Rashid stared at the moon, which still shone brightly in the sky.

"But…"

"No 'buts', Quatre-sama. Not this time. If you like the guy, go for him. That's all you need to do, so stop worrying about your so called image." He smirked. "Maybe the people will like you even more when you show them that you're just a normal person who falls in love too."

"You're right, I shouldn't act so different." Quatre looked at his hands, folded in his lap. "Do you know what my Space Heart told me?" He looked out the window again.

"Something else than 'zzzoing'?"

The moonbeams made Quatre's hair lighter than ever and his eyes became blue with silver sparkles in it.

"That he is the one."

**0o0**

Quatre bit his lip. Going to and actually _entering_ the library was harder than he thought. He had spent a half hour doing nothing but staring at the big building through his window, walking to the door and then back again. _I'm going crazy. _

The building of the Winner Company was built at the same square as the Public Library, right at the opposite end. He had a perfect view of the main entrance with the big stairs.

"Are you going or not, Mr. Quatre?"

"I was just checking if the library is open already…" Quatre quickly said, a faint blush upon his cheeks. His head assistant, Sarah Munroe, stood in the doorway and grinned knowingly at him, which made him feel absolutely stupid.

"It opens in" - she checked her watch - "a few seconds. Eight o'clock."

Quatre walked to the window again, hands in his pockets and eyes focused on searching for a tall person with brown hair. He found him soon enough. Trowa Barton just walked up the stairs at eight o'clock precisely.

"I'll wait 'till half past eight," Quatre nodded to himself. "Why am I so nervous?"

"Don't know sir, but I'll leave you alone for now." Sarah grinned at him again and left, closing the door silently behind her.

"I can do this. I'm not a nervous schoolgirl who's on her first date!" He slammed his head on his desk and fell down on his chair again, sighing uncontrollably.

**0o0**

"Uhm, hi!"

The person before him turned around slowly and closed the book he was looking in. Green eyes stared in his blankly at first, but soon, some sort of sparkle seemed to be added to the green.

"Hello." Some sort of faint smile.

"Do you know where I've got to check my book in? I mean, the girl behind the counter isn't there…" Quatre pointed at the place where Emily usually sat and indeed, the chair was empty. _He did move his face when he saw me, but was it a smile or not?_

"I'll do it for you, then." Trowa moved with grace out of the dark back from the library to the front and checked _'The Gundam Saga'_ in again.

"Thank you," Quatre exclaimed, with a bright smile on his face.

"Anytime. Would you like to borrow something else?" He tilted his head a little to the right and both of his eyes became visible.

"Uhm, I dunno yet." Quatre ran a hand through his hair again. Was Trowa treating him just like any costumer?

"If you like books like _'The Gundam Saga'_, then I maybe have some suggestions for you." He walked to the back of the library again and came back with a list. "Some nice SF books."

"Oh, thank you!"

"Excuse me, but do you know where the cooking books are?" A rather chubby woman with blond curls suddenly appeared right next to Trowa and Quatre.

"Yes miss, they're at the left end of the library… Wait, I'll show you."

"I would appreciate that, thank you very much, if you're not too busy with sweet cheeks over here." She frowned her eyebrows and looked at Quatre with despise.

Quatre felt the heat rising to his cheeks and adjusted his eyes from those of the woman. Of course, there were also people in town who thought he was just some sort of scumbag who enjoyed the good reputation of his father. And this person appeared to be one of them. _Sweet cheeks… Where do people come up with this stuff?_

"Of course I'll show you, miss." Before Trowa walked with the woman to the cookbooks, he turned to Quatre once more. "Wait for me, okay? I'll be right back." His usual monotone voice had something warm hidden in it.

Quatre, still blushing, nodded. "Yeah, of course."

Trowa's lips seemed to quirk up at the corners, but you couldn't really call that a smile. It were his eyes which truly smiled at the blonde man.

**0o0**

"It was really nice of you to ask me to take lunch with you," Quatre said happily. He was sitting next to Trowa on one of the big steps of the stairs, munching on his lunch.

"There's not much I can offer," Trowa said, "asking you for lunch was the only thing actually…"

"Don't worry, I really like lunching in public places! There're so many different people here at the fountain, it's nice to see all of them so…"

"Happy."

"Yeah, that would be the right word for it." Quatre looked at the pale blue sky. "So… do you live in town all by yourself?"

"Yeah. I do have a sister, Catherine, but she travels around the world with a circus."

Quatre felt something tingly in his chest. "Do you miss her?"

"Sometimes." Trowa's eyes were fixed on the blue sky too.

"It never feels good to be separated from your family for a long time."

"Do you have brothers and sisters?"

Quatre felt lost for some seconds. The other man had looked him so intensely in his eyes, that he had the feeling that he only saw green for a moment. "29 sisters. No brothers."

"That's a lot."

"Certainly is."

There was a silence, but it was a comfortable one. Both men were thinking about their family, while staring at the sky and the other people on the square. Quatre's feeling of nervousness was gone; he only felt a mixed feeling of comfort, warmth and safety, while sitting next to Trowa. It was a relief to lunch with him and pretend like he didn't know how many papers were waiting at work for him to sign. He really couldn't explain why, but Trowa felt like an old friend, someone he could trust completely.

It was half past one.

"Isn't your break over?"

"… Yes."

"Well, shouldn't you go inside then and…" Quatre was shut up by Trowa's sudden interruption.

"No. Just want to stay here…"

"Ah." Quatre looked sideways at his new found 'friend'. His gaze was still on the white clouds in the sky, his head tilted up a little bit.

"… With you." He moved his eyes to Quatre and there was some form of smile on his face, again.

"With me?" Quatre literally gaped. _Did he just say that? Wow, he's really nice…_

"Yeah." This time, there was a _real_ smile and he slowly placed his hand over Quatre's. "With you."

Quatre gave in and smiled back at Trowa. "Then I'll stay." He turned his hand and softly squeezed Trowa's.

They sat like that for about ten minutes, saying nothing, doing nothing, just sitting and enjoying each other's company in the warmth of the sun. Actually, both of them were kind of lonely. Quatre was at the top in his work, but he didn't have much friends to share things with. Trowa's only sister was out of country and most people thought that he was arrogant at first sight because he didn't talk too much. But now…

Quatre shot a quick glance at Trowa, searching for something in those emerald green orbs. Definitely 'zzzoing'. He chuckled softly at himself. Rashid was right.

"…?"

"I just thought about something," Quatre smiled warmly. "Actually, the thing that I see when I look in your eyes…"

"…?" Trowa quirked one of his eyebrows just slightly.

Quatre blushed a bit. "Well, don't you have some sort of feeling when you look me in my eyes?" he sputtered.

Trowa immediately inched closer, his nose almost touching Quatre's. "Hn. I see you."

"Is that good?"

"Yeah, think so." He suddenly let go of Quatre's hand and stood up. "I should go back to work."

"Yeah." Quatre stood up too. "Thanks for lunch! I really enjoyed it, you know."

"… Me too."

Quatre smiled brightly again, not knowing how to say goodbye to Trowa. A kiss? On his cheek? Wasn't that too…

"We'll see each other again, right?" Trowa briefly touched Quatre's jaw line and cheek with the back of his hand and Quatre _almost_ closed his eyes when he felt that slender hand that tickled his nerves all the way down to his spine.

"Yeah. I'll be right there"- he pointed at the Winner Company building - "and you'll be right here. So…"

"If we want to see each other…"

"… we'll just go stand by the fountain…"

"… and then we'll know right away when we want to see each other." Trowa started to walk up the stairs. "… Bye, then."

"Yeah. Goodbye." Quatre smiled one last time for walking in the direction of the Winner building, not looking back at the tall figure of the brown haired man.

**End of Chapter Two**

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**A/N:** And we're at the end of chapter two already. I have to say, I had some trouble writing the conversation between Trowa and Quatre on the stairs. Trowa always seems a little criptic to me, at the rare moments that he actually talks. Well, anyway: I did the best I could. And sorry for Quatre babbling about Trowa's eyes, I just couldn't resist.  
Remember, reviews always make a writer happy! I'm not perfect with writing, so don't hesitate to give me some criticism. It will only improve the story when I use it. 

Efreak.

**Thanks to: **Roxie Faye, SkittleGoddess and morningglory for giving me reviews. 3!


	3. Birthday Party

_Chapter Three - Birthday Party  
__Rated: T  
__Warnings: shounen-ai  
__Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing._

**Summary:** Trowa Barton works at the Public Library and is very happy with his new found job. One day at work, he meets a young man named Quatre, and that's where all the 'trouble' starts… AU, Trowa x Quatre.

**A/N: **Wow, I got more reviews than I expected! Thanks to you all. I'm glad you all like this story and well, here is chapter three. It turned out a little longer than the first two chapters, but it felt wrong to cut it into two pieces, so I just left it at this. Here, we again switch from thoughts. It's Trowa's turn again to let his mind be read by the readers. Have fun reading!

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Chapter Three - Birthday Party

A brown haired librarian found himself looking out the window again, his thoughts floating away from the work he was supposed to do. Things that didn't matter to him before, seemed to get more… depth. The water of the fountain, for example. The color wasn't just the blue reflected by the sky, it was more. There was green in it too, dark blue and light blue also. Just like Quatre's eyes.

Vanilla scented ice cream. Strange, how a scent can remind you of someone's hair… The weird feeling when you see someone with blond hair, same height and look-alike clothing from a person you like, but it's not him. The flutter in your stomach goes down again when you see it's not him, and at the same time, you're wondering _why_ you wanted it to be him. At least, Trowa wondered about that. Did you call it… being in love?

Quatre. Quatre. Quatre. It felt good saying that name. Blue eyes, blond hair, friendly face, delicate but muscular build, soft voice.

"Trowa, are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

"Hn?" He turned his head a little to the right, facing Emily.

"Apparently not," she sighed. "Okay, I'll say it one more time: don't forget to install the new catalogue program on the library computers!"

"No, I won't."

"Don't act like you were just thinking about doing that." Emily put her hands on her hips and glared at Trowa. Her red hair was a little messy and her glasses had slid down on her nose: she looked like a dangerous and overworked librarian. Which she was, of course.

"… I wasn't."

"If it wasn't for Quatre Winners luck, then I had killed you by now!" She turned around with a angry cry and started to walk back to her counter.

"Quatre Winners _luck_?"

"Don't act so stupid Trowa! Like no one saw you two cuddling on the stairs! And would you please just shut up right now, I've got lots and lots of things to do. Now where did I leave my purse…" She started to mess around with a huge pile of papers and other unknown things.

"… We were not cuddling."

Something was tossed to him from the pile of papers and believe it or not, his eyes went wide for some seconds. There was a huge photograph of him and Quatre sitting on the stairs, hands together and eyes locked, on the front page of _'Popular'_.

"That's proves enough, I believe. Now would you _please_ install that program?"

"… 'We already had an interview with Quatre Winner last week, but our photographer discovered something so called 'cute' when he went to the library yesterday: Quatre Winner holding hands with an unknown guy. What we do know, is that he works in the library. Who is this mysterious person? And why were we sent away from the Winner Company with the words 'no comment'? _Popular_ will find it out for you in our next volume.'" Trowa read the last words with amazement. _This can't be true._

"You should've known that paparazzi would be everywhere when Quatre's around," Emily replied, now from under her desk.

"Hn. They don't write anything… unpleasant about it."

"Duh! Everyone likes Quatre, they just want to know if the young heir of the Winner Company found love or not, doesn't matter with male or female. His life is like a soap to the people in town!"

"Can I keep this volume of _'Popular'_?"

"Sure, if you install that catalogue program _now_!" Emily appeared again.

"I'll do it right away." Trowa put the magazine in his bag and started to walk to the computers.

"Trowa?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you want to keep it? Do you like gossip that much?" She wiped her forehead and tossed some papers in the container.

"… No."

"Why then?"

"It's the only picture I have of Quatre with me."

**0o0**

Trowa had finally finished all the tasks Emily had given him, and was staring out of the window again. He cursed himself, muttering under his breath, and tried to start with putting up new designs for the Historical Books section. It didn't work.

Why him? Why was he, Trowa Barton, seemingly 'emotionless' person, so affected by… by… Quatre? He wasn't used to feel such a great attraction to someone. Of course, he loved his sister Catherine, but that was so different from these feelings.

He turned to his computer again and started to surf on Internet randomly. Suddenly, something hit his brain. He didn't know a lot about Quatre, but since he was registered in the main computer of the library… He smirked (which would have caused a heart attack for Emily if she'd seen it) and went to the password protected site for the librarians.

Search engine. Quatre Winner. Name, age, date of birth, place of birth, borrowed books…

Wait a sec. Date of birth. That meant that Quatre's birthday was in exactly seven days, on Friday next week! Trowa leaned back in his seat, thinking about that fact. Maybe he could go to Quatre on Friday? But what if Quatre gave some major party and he just came barging in without an invitation? Would he _receive_ an invitation?

"Emily?" He raised his voice a little bit.

"Yeah?" Emily screamed back from her place behind her desk.

"What kind of presents are good to give on someone's birthday?"

"Why do you want to know? Can't figure out yourself?" She raised an eyebrow.

"…" Trowa stared back at her with something that came near to a glare.

"Oh, well… Depends on who the person is, of course."

"… So?"

"Well, girls usually want other stuff than guys. Perfume is good, I guess. But then you'll have to get something manly for the guy, of course. Or… flowers, but that's for the persons you don't know well. And uhm, books, but that's only if you know the person well. And there're people who don't read at all…"

Trowa turned his chair away from the computer and leaned back a little. He was ready for Emily's next talk explosion. _Here we go… Ask some advice and you'll get ten times more._

"It'll help if you know the favorite color of the person to whom you want to give a present. Maybe you can buy candles then, or a photo frame in that color. Or you buy tickets for this thing the person likes, a movie or something, or the theater. Whatever he likes, of course." She waited for a reaction from Trowa.

"Yeah."

"Or clothing, but that's nice to buy with the person himself." She tapped her chin. "Getting out of ideas here…"

Trowa thought for a second. "And… what can you buy when you really _like_ the person whose birthday it is?"

Emily smirked. "Are you asking what you should buy for your lover?"

"Not exactly lover." He shifted a little uncomfortable under Emily's all-knowing-gaze. "But… just a person you like very much… A very good friend…"

"Jewelry. Not too expensive. Chocolates. Roses. Something self-made."

Trowa's inner mind was gagging. Maybe in another stage of relationship? "Something less romantic?"

"Yeah, that was maybe too cliché. Uhm…" Emily tapped her chin again. "Well, I keep falling back on the cliché, you know. Maybe something of value to you, some special place you know, or something you never share with someone else…

"Ah."

"But I would still go for jewelry," she smiled. "Even guys like those big thumb rings or Celtic bracelets. It doesn't need to be expensive or something, just something special you searched for. But I'm a born romantic." She put on her glasses again and seated herself behind her desk. "And a librarian who should be working." She glared at him too.

"I get the hint. But thanks for your advice."

"Anytime, Tro."

**0o0**

Trowa was sitting silently at the fountain, watching the blue water sprinkle in all kinds of ways. He hoped that their deal worked and that Quatre would come when he saw him sitting by the fountain on the square. Buying a present for the blonde man was harder than he thought, so he'd taken Emily's advice very serious and was waiting for Quatre to ask him some questions.

His eyes scanned the square, but he never saw someone with a camera, or someone who at least _appeared_ to be working for a magazine. How did they sneak into place when there was gossip around? _The first one I see who photographs Quatre and me…_

His thoughts were stopped abruptly when he noticed a person walking up to the fountain with blond, wavy locks and blue eyes, which were seen from about a mile away, so bright as they were. There was a tall, dark and broad man walking just a few steps behind him. _Is that his bodyguard?_

"Trowa! How nice to see you again!" Quatre smiled happily and his blue eyes bored into Trowa's.

"… Hello." _Quatre._

"This is Rashid, a very good friend of mine from Arabia. He's kind of my bodyguard too." Quatre's face was beaming again, like he couldn't stop smiling at all.

Rashid only nodded to Trowa, but his face was friendly, just like Quatre's.

"Why did you want to see me? Is it urgent?"

"A little," Trowa replied. "I was wondering what your favorite color was…?"

"Ah, I like a lot of colors, but mostly pastel for myself. Blue, light orange, yellow, pink… and uhm, green. But blue and green the most, I think."

"Thanks. And what do you like to do in your spare time?"

Quatre seemed to be surprised about the direct questions and enjoying them at the same time. "I like reading books, but also to be with others… just talking. And going out for dinner, or cooking. I'm not that good at cooking, but anyway, it's fun to do! But enjoy everything the most when…"

"… there're other people with you." Trowa smiled at Quatre.

"Yeah, exactly!" he said, chuckling.

"Why are you asking all of this to Quatre-sama?" Rashid suddenly blurted out.

Trowa studied the face of the dark man carefully and came to the conclusion that Rashid's opinion would mean a lot to Quatre. Rashid kind of looked like a father figure to the young heir and his judgment of Trowa would be important. He _had_ to give a good impression to Rashid.

"It's a surprise," he said. "For Quatre."

"I assume that you can't tell it to me, then." Rashid sounded somewhat amused.

"Only if Quatre doesn't hear it." _He knows. He knows I want to make a good impression._

"Ah, Trowa, come on! You're already making me curious with your questions." Quatre made a fake pouting face and giggled.

_Too sweet. He's just too sweet. _Trowa's small smile appeared on his face.

Rashid made a snorting sound, but there was some glitter in his dark eyes and Trowa had the feeling that the man really was amused by the whole situation.

"Rashid?" Quatre looked up at his bodyguard and frowned his eyebrows a little bit. He'd obviously missed the whole 'understanding' between Rashid and Trowa.

"It's nothing, Quatre-sama." Rashid smiled and looked at Trowa again. "Just think about what I said last week to you. That's all you need to know."

"Oh, okay." Quatre nodded and turned to Trowa again. "Want to know more for your surprise?"

"No, I think I know enough." Trowa looked from Quatre to Rashid and back. He was right. Rashid wasn't just a bodyguard.

"Well, I think I've got to go. I've got a lot to do… but…" Quatre's eyebrows were frowned and he looked like he could apologize any moment.

"Ssh. You don't have to apologize, I know you've got a lot do to." Trowa had placed his finger on Quatre's lips when he said 'ssh' and Quatre stared at him with big eyes.

"Yeah," he said, voice sounding shaky when Trowa removed his finger. "I'll go… then."

"… Bye."

"Yes, goodbye." Quatre leaned forward a bit and placed a kiss on Trowa's cheek, just an inch away from his lips. "I'm looking forward to your surprise. Find me when you need me."

"Yeah," Trowa nodded, "I will." _He just kissed me. Kissed _me_. On my cheek._

Rashid and Quatre turned around and started to walk back to the Winner building, while Trowa watched them with a hint of a smile on his lips.

**0o0**

It was raining all day long that Friday. Trowa could see the drops running down the window, leaving their wet trails on the glass. People were running over the square with everything they could find above their heads and a lot of them found shelter in the big entrance hall of the library, leaving wet marks everywhere.

"Don't even think of touching the books! I'm sorry sir, but you're so soaked…"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just taking shelter here, so I thought I maybe could read a book or something…"

"No way! Not when you're so wet, I'm sorry sir!" Emily pulled the poor man away from the bookshelves and Trowa chuckled to himself. Emily was funny when she was stressed.

"Please miss, could you keep your children away from the archive?" Emily blocked the archives door (yes, the same Quatre had hid himself in) from some mud covered children.

"They're not mine!" The voice of the woman to whom Emily had spoken, sounded like the cracking of an old door.

"Oh gods, how am I going to survive this?" Emily slid down on the floor like a dead heap of… human.

Trowa clucked again, but stepped forward and raised his deep voice. "Excuse me everyone, but could I get your attention please?"

Everyone turned their heads to him, surprised about the sudden voice.

"Could everyone who is sheltering from the rain go to the _left_ side of the entrance hall? That would leave the path free for all the other people in the library."

The crowd moved to the left, leaving the doors free.

"Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen." He stepped back in the shadows again and pulled Emily up.

"Thanks a bunch Tro, I'm like, dead."

"Hn. I believe I've noticed that by now."

Emily giggled and tried to find her glasses, which had slipped away when she fell.

"Don't overwork yourself."

"I know, I know. But what's wrong with _you_ today?"

"…?"

"You seem so different. I mean, you're looking out of the window for half of the time and you brought this huge bag." She pointed at the brown bag at Trowa's feet. "Are you going away for the weekend or something?"

"… No. I'm going to visit a friend."

"Ah." She nodded slowly. "And am I right when I think that the friend lives at the other end of the square" - she pointed at the Winner Company - " which is the point you're looking at all day long?"

Trowa gave up. "Yes."

"Good luck. It's his birthday, right?"

He nodded. "How do you know?"

"He gave a party last year, but not this year. You know what…" She looked at her watch. "I give you the damn day off! Zack will be here at two o'clock, so I can handle everything here and I _command_ you to go to him. You'll be no use anyway."

"But Emily…"

"No 'buts'! You're always working hard and now is the time to reward you for that." She smirked.

"I can't do that, I'm supposed to work here 'till five." Trowa's one eye blinked a few times in surprise.

"If you don't move your ass to the Winner Company right now, then I'll personally arrange that you'll be fired!" Emily screamed and some of the sheltering people looked up at the noise.

Trowa's eye widened for a second. "… Okay. I'll move my ass to… to the Winner Company."

"I believe you understood me fully," Emily nodded.

"You sure you'll be all right?"

"Yeah, of course. And otherwise, you'll be the first one to find me dead next Monday." She gave him his coat. "Come on, go on. It's not that hard."

"Thanks, Emily." Trowa took his bag and walked slowly in the direction of the doors.

"Anytime, Trowa. Good luck!"

**0o0**

The inside of the Winner Company building was… well, could one call it grey? Everything seemed to be completely in order and rank, from the palm at the entrance to the chairs next to the counter. It seemed like the design for every big office building and Trowa felt lost. It wasn't like he'd never been in one of those office buildings before, but he was used to colors that someone could actually _name_ and places that looked like they were being _used_. There was no dust (or any 'dirt' whatsoever), huge windows everywhere, which made the building even more huge from the inside and… a stupid palm that looked like it was brought to a Plant Beauty Salon every week.

He walked to the counter. "Excuse me…"

"Yes, sir? How may I help you?"

"I'm here to see Mr. Quatre Winner."

"What is your name? Do you have an appointment?"

"Trowa Barton. No appointment."

"I'm sorry, but then I can't take you to Mr. Quatre. He is a very busy man and only meets people who are on his appointment schedule."

"Ah. Is he busy now?"

The man blinked. "Of course. He's at his work."

"Could you please do me a favor and call him to say that Trowa Barton is here to see him?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Quatre never gives permission to…"

"Just do it. I'm a friend of his. We used to meet at the fountain, but now, I came here instead." _Stupid guy._

"Sorry, sir, I can't do that." The man shook his head slowly and Trowa almost twitched.

A few meters from the scene stood a woman with black hair in a ponytail, listening to the conversation between Trowa and the counter guy.

"Please. He _knows_ me. I'm not a stupid fan."

The woman stepped forward and tapped Trowa on his shoulder. "Excuse me sir, are you Trowa Barton?"

"Yes." Trowa turned his head and both of his eyes appeared.

"You used to meet with Mr. Quatre at the fountain?"

"_Yes_."

"Tom, you're so stupid! I told you to let a tall guy with brown hair that fell over one green eye and a little bit tanned skin in when he wanted to see Mr. Quatre!" The woman smacked the counter guy, Tom apparently, on the back of his head.

"Ouch! Sorry, Mrs. Munroe, I'll watch out better next time."

"You betcha!" The woman turned to Trowa again with a toothpaste commercial smile on her face, like there was nothing wrong. "Trowa Barton, I'm Sarah Munroe, head assistant from Mr. Quatre. Please follow me."

Without saying anything, Trowa followed the black haired woman to the elevator.

"I'll take you to Mr. Quatre right away."

**0o0**

Trowa's throat went dry when Sarah Munroe almost pushed him into Quatre's room. He could see him sitting at his desk, back to the door.

"Mr. Quatre, there's a special guest for you. I'll be down the hall if you need me." And with that, Sarah left again.

"Well, who is my mystery guest?" Quatre was looking at some papers, back still to the door.

"Happy birthday," Trowa said softly, almost inaudible.

He saw Quatre's form stiffen and the young man immediately turned around, eyes wide. "Trowa…?"

"…" Trowa smiled.

"You came here… on my birthday? How did you know?" He got out of his chair and walked up to Trowa.

"That's my secret. Anyway…" He looked down before giving Quatre a beautiful bouquet of all sorts of tulips, in yellow, green, blue, light orange and pink. (**A/N**: Yeah, he was hiding that behind his back.)

"Oh my god, thank you so much, Trowa!" Quatre took the flowers from Trowa and inhaled their scent, before bending down to get a vase from under his desk. He quickly filled it with water: there was a washbowl at the right side of his office.

"I hope you like them."

"Of course! They're in all the colors I said to you. I mean, the colors I like!" He smiled brightly. "Thank you so much! You came all the way here with flowers for my birthday!"

"Well… I brought something more…" Trowa reached inside his bag and gave Quatre a gift wrapped box. "If you don't like it, you should say it. I can still exchange it for something else…"

Quatre blinked a few times. "For me?"

Trowa chuckled softly. "Who else?" _Silly guy._

Quatre started to unwrap the package slowly and opened the black jewelry box just enough to peek inside. His eyes went wide again.

"Trowa, this is just…I…" He opened the box all the way. There was a Celtic bracelet in it, small enough to fit exactly round Quatre's small wrist. An aquamarine stone sparkled right in the middle, decorated by typical Celtic knots. "It's beautiful."

"Just like you," Trowa said shyly.

Quatre looked up at him at those words and suddenly jumped up, wrapping his arms around Trowa's neck.

"Thank you so much, Trowa! You're the first one to actually do something about the fact it's my birthday today and you brought such beautiful presents!" He buried his face in Trowa's shoulder.

"… I'm happy you like it." Trowa, who was absolutely startled at first, had recovered from his shock. He slowly locked his arms around Quatre's shoulders.

"I love it!"

"… Glad I found the right things."

Quatre let go of Trowa and he just seemed to glow. In the short time of unwrapping his present and jumping up to Trowa, he'd already slipped the bracelet on his wrist. "Look. It fits perfectly."

Trowa smiled and touched the stone in the middle.

"Trowa? I'm kind of giving a party tonight for some other friends. Would you like to come? It's in my apartment. You can stay now, I still have to do some preparations."

"I would be very happy to stay."

"Kay, that's settled then! You can help me cook if you want to. You know what? I take the day off and we'll go to my apartment right away." Quatre had his coat on in a second, the jewelry box and flowers (still in the vase), clutched to his chest.

_What is it with people taking off the day today…?_ "That's okay with me. I can cook a little."

"Come on then! We've got no time to lose!" Quatre was at the door in another second and had slurred Trowa with him, hooking his arm in Trowa's.

"Quatre…"

"Yes?" Quatre stopped his tracks and looked at Trowa again.

"You're sweet." A small grin accompanied those words.

"You too," the other man said with a faint blush on his cheeks. "Come on, let's go."

When they left the building, they were being watched by a black haired woman, who was standing next to the counter guy at the entrance. She smiled when she saw the tall man being pulled out of the building by the somewhat shorter Quatre, their arms hooked as one.

"That's why you should _always_ let Mr. Barton in, Tom. He turns our workaholic boss Mr. Quatre into his true self again."

"Okay, Mrs. Munroe."

"You betcha."

**End Chapter Three**

* * *

**A/N**: Gasp! That was a lot. I really couldn't stop writing, Trowa and Quatre are interesting characters to write about. Hmm, that would be logical, otherwise I wouldn't be writing about them. _Anyway..._ I've discovered that I kinda look like Emily! Not in appearance, but in how she acts and talks.  
If you see any mistakes, please point them out. I already said so in the first chapter: English is not my first language, I live in the Netherlands (guess why Trowa gave Quatre tulips for his birthday...). And if you don't see any mistakes, well, just review! XD 

Efreak.

**Thanks to: **frenchiefry666, Artemis Maxwell-Yuy, pale aspirations and The Tears of Ages for leaving a review behind. I feel loved, guys!


	4. Love Is In The Air

_Chapter Four - Love Is In The Air  
__Rated: T  
__Warnings: shounen-ai  
__Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing and "That's the way, I like it" by KC & The Sunshine Band (but I do own the Brown-Eared-West-Mexican Bat! He lives in my head... O.o)._

**Summary:** Trowa Barton works at the Public Library and is very happy with his new found job. One day at work, he meets a young man named Quatre, and that's where all the 'trouble' starts… AU, Trowa x Quatre.

**A/N:** My tests at school are going very well, so I had some spare time to write the next chapter. Wrote this in exactly one hour and that's a very fast for my doing, so I give my apologies if there are any mistakes. I'll check it tomorrow if I can find some myself. Thank you for all your reviews, and since most of you wanted me to update: lookie, I did. Oh, yes: rating changed to T. Just to be safe.

* * *

**Chapter Four - Love Is In The Air**

Quatre's apartment was… well, not an apartment. It was more like a huge manor, just a few miles from town, standing alone in the landscape, with a perfect view of the town on the horizon. There was a fence around the whole estate and the gates wore a big, goldish 'W' on it, which of course stood for the name of Winner.

"See? Aren't you happy we took my car?"

Trowa stared up at the manor. "… Yes."

"It would have been a rather long walk, you see." Quatre, behind the wheel, pressed a button on his dashboard and the gates opened slowly.

"Do you live here all by yourself?" The eye of Quatre's passenger looked a little amazed at the beautiful garden next to the path, with all kinds of trees. And flowerbeds, of course.

"Well, it's kinda a meeting point for the whole family. You remember I have…"

"29 sisters?" Trowa turned his head and looked Quatre intensely in his eyes.

Time seemed to get slower for Quatre. Eyes could be such a expansion of the soul… And how did Trowa always know what he was gonna say?

"Watch the road."

"Haaah…" Quatre quickly turned the wheel to the right, following the path to the entrance of the manor. _Stupid! You are so stupid! You can't even normally ride a car when _he_ sits next to you!_

Trowa chuckled and Quatre felt himself flush with embarrassment. Damn, it was always him who blundered in front of everyone. And the fact that he blushed very quickly blushing didn't really help with the whole situation.

He parked the car before the entrance and stepped out, breathing in the fresh air. He quickly walked over to the other side to open Trowa's door, after first grabbing his birthday presents from the back of the car.

"Welcome to the Winner Estate," he said, grinning stupidly.

Trowa stepped out with grace and gave the building a closer look, face not showing anything of what he thought.

"Well, come in. There're no servants or anything - they'll arrive next Monday with one of my sisters, Iria. The house is so big so all the members of the Winner family can actually _live_ here" - he finally had that rusty lock open and opened the door - "and I even have my own part on the top floor."

"It looks… old," Trowa replied, his hand sliding over the wall in the hall. "In a good way. Sort of house you'll find in a historical houses book…"

"Thanks." Quatre smiled and closed the door. "Come on, we'll go to my room at once. I hate it being down here, it's always so dark and empty without the servants…"

"You said you were going to give a small party tonight?" Trowa asked, following Quatre up the stairs.

"Yeah, with some friends. I don't know if you know them… But anyways, I think it'll be fun."

"And… May I help you with the preparations?"

"Of course! If you like, but you don't have to. Well, I'll drag you into the kitchen for the cooking anyway, I told you I was not so good at that."

Trowa looked a little confused at the stairs. "Uhm, Quatre?"

"Yeah?" Quatre looked back at him, smiling brightly.

"Where is the kitchen, actually? We already walked up… three staircases."

"Kitchen is on the top floor. Only one staircase to go! I thought a circus artist like you could handle some physical… education." He giggled and to his surprise, Trowa laughed too. Not loud of course.

"Ah, here we are!" Quatre grabbed his keys again and opened the one and only door on the hallway on the fourth floor. Well, you couldn't exactly call it a hallway: there practically wasn't anything other than the door Quatre was opening and a (fake) plant next to it, on a table. No door that could lead to a kitchen.

Quatre eagerly went into the room, disposed his keys on a basket on the closest table and put his coat on the couch. He immediately went to the sink unit and filled the vase with flowers with fresh water. With the water running, he quickly ran to the mirror next to the door, watched how the bracelet fitted around his wrist and ran back, just in time to stop the water. Then, he walked to one of the windows, placing the vase proudly in the light. He didn't notice that Trowa was acting rather strangely.

"Look at how beautiful they are! They certainly come more to their right here than back in my office. Hn, maybe I'll just take them to my office when I go to work and then back home again, everyday, then I would enjoy them the most! What do you think, Trowa?" Quatre turned around to see his friend looking around his room with a totally blank expression.

"Is this… your _room_?"

"Yeah. I know it's kinda big, but… What's wrong?" Quatre blinked a few times. Trowa was still standing in the doorway, staring at him as if he were a raving lunatic.

"Big…" Trowa whispered. "My apartment isn't even _half_ of this!"

_Okay. Mental note to self: this is how Trowa looks when he's surprised. Once in a entire lifetime to see!_

"Sorry." He suddenly adjusted his coat and stopped staring at his environment. "That was rude."

Quatre shook his head, chuckling. "I don't care if it was rude, you're my friend and you don't _mean_ to be rude, so why should I care? Just drop your coat somewhere and then we can do some cooking!"

Trowa nodded in agreement and placed his coat next to Quatre's on the couch. The young heir saw Trowa's eyes move over his room:

Center of the room about a meter lower than the rest in a round shaped form, with a couch that followed the round shape. Two small stairs led to the lower center of the room. TV-screen on the wall. Open kitchen on the right, door to bathroom on the left. Piano and violin (on a standard) next to the bathroom door. A lot of palms. Mirror behind him, plus a dinner table with eight chairs. Huge windows with perfect view of the city. All colors were bright, warm, and could be well found in the stories of _'Arabian Nights'_, just like the designs and the palms.

"Analyzed everything?" Quatre giggled and made his way to the kitchen, searching in the fridge for something to eat.

"…"

"What do you like to eat?"

"I like almost all the food."

"Maybe that wasn't such a smart thing to say, 'cause I was planning on making oysters, squid… (**A/N:** Sorry, I just hate everything that swims in the sea XD)… Maybe even some parts of the Brown-Eared-West-Mexican Bat. And those are totally gross."

Trowa produced his soft chuckle and walked up to Quatre, laying one hand on his shoulder and looking at the stuff that he got out of the fridge. "Well, from what _I _see, but my eyes could deceive me, is that we're going to…" He reached out his neck to see better.

"… gourmet," Quatre said.

"Exactly." Trowa produced a small smile and rested his head on Quatre's shoulder, watching Quatre getting his stuff for dinner ready.

_He's so close. I can feel his breath on my neck. He smells like…toothpaste. And cinnamon…? Whatever. It's him. That's good enough. He isn't heavy at all on my shoulder, but even if he was, I wouldn't shrug him off…_

"Quatre," Trowa said firmly.

"Yes?"

"Your hands stopped moving."

"Oh, yeah…" _Why does my body malfunction at these times!_

"What were you thinking of?"

"I was… enjoying the moment, I guess. You?" Quatre felt his cheeks warm up within seconds and didn't dare to turn his head and face him.

"… Me too." Trowa tightened his arms around Quatre's form for a sec and then let go, before placing a kiss at the back of his neck. A very shy and unsure one, but it was a kiss.

Quatre smiled softly and sought Trowa's hand behind him, entertwining his fingers with those of the brown haired man. He gave a soft squeeze and Trowa squeezed back. Quatre grinned.

_This is gonna be fun._

**0o0**

"Quatre, what kind of people are your friends?" Trowa placed a basket with slices of baguettes on the dinner table.

"Well, you've got Duo Maxwell, he's the talkative one. He just always talks. But he's very friendly and kind, only some people think he's annoying because of his jokes and stuff."

"Ah. And who else is going to come to the party?"

"Wufei Chang, a Chinese guy. He kind of… hates weak people. And women maybe. And… he always babbles about justice, or injustice, but he's still a good friend of mine. He's in our group." Quatre prepared the salad, spraying the sauce randomly over it.

"… You said three, I believe so. Who else?"

"Heero Yuy. He's kind of stoic, just like you." _Oops._

"Stoic?" Trowa's glare could've swept Dorothy Catalonia off her feet.

"No, no, you're not really stoic, I mean, it's just hard to read you expression and you don't talk that much…" Quatre held his hands defensibly in front of him.

"Hn. Stoic. Thanks a lot."

"Trowa, I didn't mean it! You know that as well as I do." Quatre put the salad on the table and looked at Trowa.

"…" No response.

"What are you doing?"

"… Giving the word 'stoic' the meaning it should have. I don't think I'll talk to you anymore."

"Ahhh, come on, I didn't mean it." Quatre gave Trowa a gentle push against his arm, before looking up in those green eyes again. "Trowa…?"

No response.

"Are you mad?" Quatre blinked in surprise.

"… I'm being stoic."

"You're being stupid. Please talk normal?"

"…"

"Fine! Have it your way! Be stoic all the time!" Quatre turned around, hands in the air and walked back to fridge again, searching for the ketchup and curry sauce.

_Why did I actually said that? Now he's gonna be silent… maybe the whole evening. And enjoy his voice so much. I mean, he is sometimes a little stoic and then you can't make out his emotions, but I don't care! He's clear enough to me._

"What would you like to drink?" He returned with the sauces and placed them on the table, watching Trowa carefully. He wasn't really mad, was he?

"…"

"I can give you water from the pond in the garden if you like."

"… Have you got orange juice?" He didn't look up.

"Trowa, you aren't really mad, are you?" Quatre touched his shoulder. "Cause if you feel hurt, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just… came out. You can be a little stoic sometimes and some people say I'm too girly sometimes. But those things are just… part of you, I guess."

"I'm not mad at you."

Quatre grinned and let himself fall on the couch next to him. "I know, I know, you're being stoic. My little speech was just in case if you were really hurt by my words, but didn't want to tell me so."

"You know, you're sometimes way too caring. About other people."

"And _you_ know, you're sometimes way too vague for other people to understand."

Trowa turned his head to Quatre with a quick swift and narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, I didn't say stoic!" Quatre giggled, but Trowa kept staring at him.

"Uhm, what are you exactly doing?"

"Quatre, I was wondering about something. But I feel stupid for doing so." Trowa looked away.

"Has it anything to do with…"

"No, not stoic. I was just wondering…" He looked away again.

"Hey," Quatre said softly, forcing Trowa to look in his eyes. "You can just tell me."

"Are you… seeing someone?"

_He looks sooo cute when he's uncertain about something._

"Well, I think I am actually… It's this cute guy I just met, but he feels so right! You know what I mean?"

"…" Trowa tried to look everywhere except at the face of the blonde man beside him.

"And his eyes are marvelous! Every time I look into them, time seems to stop, right there. I think he likes me too, but I actually don't know much about him. But as I said, he feels right." Quatre giggled. "I believe I sound like a born-on-cloud-nine-romantic."

"…"

"You know him."

"… I do?"

"Yeah, very well, I guess. But as I said, I don't know if the guy actually thinks he's _seeing_ me. Maybe he just sees me as a friend. Do you know if he sees me as a friend or not?"

Trowa blinked. "How could I know?"

Quatre inched his face a little closer to Trowa's. "Ask yourself."

You could just see that Trowa slowly began to realize the double meaning of the two words and Quatre found it highly amusing. The thing the blonde man had meant, hit Trowa after a few seconds.

"Ask… myself?" Trowa grinned and started chuckling. "I am _too_ stupid."

"But have you asked yourself?" Quatre tilted his head to the right, a sweet smile on his face.

"Yes, and I think the guy thinks he's seeing you." Trowa leaned in a little closer, his lips just inches away from Quatre's. "I also think… that he likes you very much."

Quatre looked right into Trowa's green eyes. He could almost _feel_ Trowa's lips against his when he spoke, so close as they were. "You know what I think? That you're not so stoic after all."

Trowa smiled: a full, true smile, but still a small one. He slowly tilted his head a little and leaned in, breathing in Quatre's scent, slowly placing his hand on the other's hip…

"Yo Q-man, are you ready to party? Happy birthday pal, I brought presents!"

Quatre practically flew off of the couch, completely flushed, and turned around, seeing a man with a long, brown braid standing next to an open window. "Duo!"

"Yup, it's me!" He grinned widely. "And who's that dude that just tried to kiss you?"

**0o0**

"It's so good to have you guys here!" Quatre settled himself happily on the couch, between Trowa and the other man that'd come with Duo. "Would you like a drink?"

"No, thanks! I've had a little too much ice cream…" Duo smiled and put his hands behind his head.

"No," was the only reply from the other man. His hair was dark brown, very dark, and his eyes were bright blue, but very different from Quatre's. More cobalt blue.

"Okay then! Anyways… this is Trowa Barton. I met him a few weeks ago and I think he'll fit perfectly into our group." Quatre nodded to himself and shot a glance at Trowa, who seemed a little stunned by the whole situation.

"Tro, I'm Duo Maxwell. You don't mind me calling you 'Tro'? Well, anyways, sorry about the original incoming." The braided man pointed at the open window. "I thought, let's surprise Q, and that worked perfectly." He grinned at Trowa. "Saw that, Heero?"

"Hn." Heero produced something that sounded like a grunt and kept glaring at all the things in Quatre's room.

"This is Heero Yuy. Doesn't talk too much, but hey, he has me to talk for him!" Another grin.

"You wrote _'The Gundam Saga'_," Trowa said, trying to catch Heero's gaze. "It's very good."

Heero glared at Trowa. "Thanks."

"Where's Wufei?" Duo looked around the room, looking like he'd expect that Wufei would be somewhere in a cupboard or something.

"He still needs to arrive," Quatre replied, "but somehow, I think he takes the main door instead of the window." He smiled.

"I'm just a very good spy!" Duo chuckled and reached out for a bag at Heero's feet. "Those are your…"

"Hey," Heero interrupted him, not even raising his voice a little bit, "I was the one who hauled you up."

Duo blinked a few times.

"From the ground," he added.

"Oh, that, but that doesn't matter. I mean, I think that everyone knows that we're a team, so they all suppose that we help each other!" Duo smiled, grabbing the bag. "Those are your presents, Q."

"Hn. I should remember that for the next time."

"Why, Heero?"

"I'll let you haul _me_ up."

"That's not fair! You're much more heavier than I!" Duo whined. "I don't even eat that much."

"Hn!" This grunt from Heero was definitely a sneering one, but Duo didn't seem to mind.

_I think Trowa doesn't know where he's getting himself into by meeting my friends… _Quatre chuckled softly to himself and heard a familiar sound. The doorbell.

"Wufei. I'll go get him." Quatre walked out of the room, leaving Trowa alone with Duo and Heero. When he quickly looked into his emerald green orbs before closing the door behind him, he thought he saw some panic there…

**0o0**

Quatre munched happily on his meat, looking at his friends around the table. Duo was talking the sanity out of everyone, as usual, Heero sat at Duo's right and only focused on eating and Wufei, who sat on Duo's left, was getting crazy, also as usual. But they all knew that Wufei did enjoy 'arguing' with Duo. Those two were just too funny to watch.

Quatre sat at the other side of the table next to Trowa, who also performed the Heero technique. Focusing on the food.

"But Fei…" Duo was whining again.

"Shut up," Wufei grunted, taking a big gulp of his drink.

"Is the food good?" Quatre asked. "I asked Trowa to help me with the cooking, to prevent any accidents with my… well, cooking. You all know I'm not that good." He smiled.

"Good," Heero said, taking another bite.

"I like it," Wufei said.

"That's the way, uh-huh-uh-huh! I like it, uh-huh-uh-huh!" Duo screeched. He received a glare from Wufei. "Sorry, that just had to come out. But anyways, I like it too, Q. It's really nice."

"Me too," Trowa replied, turning his head to face Quatre for a moment.

"Tro, can I ask you something?" Duo put his fork down.

Trowa nodded slowly. "Yes, of course."

"Are you and Quatre together?"

Silence.

"Well…" Quatre stopped and blushed, looking at his plate. He and Trowa had started talking at the same time.

"Uhm…" Trowa started, but he didn't continue.

"We're…" Quatre shot a glance at Trowa.

"… kind of…"

"… together."

Both nodded at each other in agreement.

Duo laughed out loud. "You two are really cute together! Sorry if I interrupted something back then that could've been the final step to 'being together' instead of 'kind of being together'." He winked.

"We don't mind," Quatre and Trowa said at the same time.

"Geez, what's this, the married couple?" Duo was really laughing by now.

"Duo! It is not your damn right to eat all the steak!" Wufei interrupted Duo's laughing and shot a glance at Duo's plate and back at his own. Then, to his pan on the gourmet and back to Duo's.

"Oops."

"Duo. You. Ate. The. Meat. That. Was. In. _My_. Pan."

"I'm sorry Fei! But you just burned it every time, so I thought…"

"I. Like. My. Meat. Black. Roasted."

"There's more in the kitchen," Trowa said quickly. "Or you can switch places with me."

Quatre blinked a few times in surprise. _No, Trowa, what are you saying! What if Wufei…I want to sit next to you._

But Wufei noticed the suddenly disappointed look on his friend and shook his head. "No, but thanks. I'll take some other meat and watch out. That. Duo. Doesn't. Eat. It. Again!"

Trowa chuckled behind his hand.

"I don't understand you two," Wufei muttered, playing with his food.

"Hn?"

"Most of the time, I really have to struggle with myself to not to shout 'Get a room!' to Duo and you," Wufei answered to Heero's grunt. "But every time that I _wish_ that you keep him busy, then you don't do it!"

"Sorry."

"Injustice," Wufei muttered again.

Trowa and Quatre looked at each other and both chuckled again. Trowa's eyes just said to Quatre that he enjoyed being here, on Quatre's birthday party, even if his friends were a little weird. Quatre suddenly found a hand searching for his, and before he knew, he was holding hands with Trowa again. Not that he minded, of course. He smiled at his friend, and gave the other hand a gentle squeeze.

Wufei looked up at the slight movement of the two at the other side of the table. "Get a room."

"Oh gods, Wufei, you _do_ have X-ray eyes!"

"Shut up, Duo."

"Eh-heh-heh."

**0o0**

It was already getting a little late, somewhere between three or four o'clock in the morning. They were all slumped on the couch in front of the TV, watching some stupid show. Wufei had took the most far away corner from everyone at the right, covered under tons of cushions. Duo was lying stretched out besides him, his head on Heero's stomach. Heero was the only one who still looked like he was… alive.

Quatre was feeling very sleepy and leaned a little against Trowa, who sat between him and Heero. His eyes were just too tired to keep open… Something nudged his shoulder.

"Quatre? Are you still awake?" Trowa wiped some bangs from the blonde man's face.

"Nnh, yeah. I think we should go to bed, guys. You can all stay here. Guestroom is on the right." He pointed at another door next to the mirror, standing up groggily.

"I'll take the couch," Wufei grunted, snuggling deeper into his cushions.

"We'll take the guestroom." Heero stood up and helped an almost sleeping Duo to his feet.

"Okay, it's a two size bed anyway." Quatre turned the TV/beamer off and pointed at some clothes next to the dinner table. "Since you all always stay here when I invite you… Those are your pajamas."

Heero picked a dark blue and a violet one from the ground and yanked Duo into the guestroom by pulling his braid.

"Ouch!"

"Stop whining."

"Yay, I got a violet pajama. I love it when you buy pajamas in the color of our eyes, Q."

Heero snorted and closed the door.

"Guys, I don't want to hear noises coming from that door!" Wufei screamed at the closed door. He'd left his cushions to grab his black pajama.

"Goodnight, Wufei."

"Night Quatre, Trowa."

**0o0**

"See? I told you I had some spare pajamas somewhere!" Quatre exclaimed happily, holding a pair of green pajamas in front of Trowa. "And green too."

"Aren't they… a little too small?"

"Not that small. I'm almost as big as you," Quatre said, sounding a little reproachful. "Maybe the trousers will be a little too short, but that's okay, right?"

Trowa nodded.

They were in Quatre's bedroom to search for pajamas for Trowa. The bedroom was a lot smaller than the living room, but had the same shape. The round shaped form in the center wasn't lower, but _higher_ than the rest of the room, with a beautiful bed with curtains on top of it.

Quatre went in search for his own pajamas: a light blue pair.

"Uhm, Quatre…"

"Yeah?"

"Where do I actually sleep?"

**End Chapter Four**

**

* * *

****A/N:** Whew, that was really written as fast as I could. Heh, I brought the other Gundam boys in. I hope they aren't too OOC, because I was a little hyperactive when I wrote the last part with them eating and all. I thought that Heero and Duo were kinda hard to write as a couple, but it worked out better than I thought (right?). So, in this 3x4 fic (or 4x3) you'll have 1x2 (or 2x1) on the side. Just a little.

Efreak.

**Thanks to: **brightanarchy, The Tears of Ages, Elliott's girl, Roxie Faye, Artemis Maxwell-Yuy, frenchiefry666, DutchDuelist, Reader and fruits of eos for reviewing my story. Now I got inspiration to write a next chapter :) Thank you all!


	5. The Day AFter

_Chapter Five - The Day After  
__Rated: T  
__Warnings: shounen-ai  
__Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing._

**Summary:** Trowa Barton works at the Public Library and is very happy with his new found job. One day at work, he meets a young man named Quatre, and that's where all the 'trouble' starts… AU, Trowa x Quatre.

**A/N:** Dear readers who are still sticking with the story: I am TRULY SORRY! I haven't updated in ages, knowing the fact that stories that aren't being updated regulary, are very irritating. Main reasons for not updating: school, writers block, school, my mum complaining about school, writers block, school. Need more explanation? Anyway, please don't hurt me too much for not updating...  
This chapter was an absolute _killer_ for me. Damn, I just didn't know what to write! It's still not fully like I wanted it to be, but I just posted it, since it would be rather awkward when I'd delete it for the 100th time and rewrite it _again_. Well, uhm... enjoy?

* * *

**Chapter Five - The Day After**

"You were saying…"

"Where do I actually sleep?" Trowa repeated, folding his pajamas over his left arm. He tilted his head a little in question at Quatre, who didn't move at all and plainly stared at him.

_Trowa, maybe that wasn't too clever of you to ask. You ask I guy you absolutely like where to sleep when you're standing next to his… bed. _Trowa almost shook his head at his thoughts.

"Well, uhm… The guestroom's already occupied and Wufei's on the couch and I don't know if I… if I've got a spare bed somewhere…" He gestured vaguely around the room with his right hand and the blush on his face could be seen even in the dim light of the room.

Trowa got closer and gently placed his hand on Quatre's shoulder. "Hey. I didn't mean to scare you away. I…"

"You didn't scare me away," Quatre answered, smiling a little nervously.

"Then why do you look like you're being scared away?" the other man said, catching one of Quatre's bangs between his fingers.

Quatre let out a little sigh. "I like you!"

Trowa blinked at that sudden outburst from the young heir. "… I like you too."

"That's not the point!" Quatre said, looking at the ceiling. Then, he noticed Trowa's expression. "Wait, that's not what I mean! I mean, I know that, I just wanted to tell you…"

"Yes?"

"What I mean, is that I don't want things to be awkward between us, and I… I don't want to move so fast with this relationship. I know you for a few weeks now and there are so many things I still want to do with you before we take the big step, you know," he mumbled, his head down.

"Was that a warning or an explanation?" Trowa asked with a soft chuckle.

Quatre looked up at him, a little bewildered. "Hey! I was trying to say everything the best I could and you…"

His words were stopped by the green eyed man who pulled him into an embrace. "Quatre, I didn't even _think_ about the 'big step' just yet. Well, maybe I did think about it," he added with a light smile, "but I don't want to. Yet. Not now everything is going so well between us."

"Hmm. Well, I think this whole thing is rather awkward."

"Awkward or not, we've got it sorted it out now, right?" Trowa nudged the man in his arms to look up to him. "Right?"

"Sorta." Quatre looked up and smiled. "But I feel like something's missing."

Trowa quirked his eyebrows. "I believe we've had everything. The saving in the library, the presents for your birthday, your party, meeting your friends, your friends meeting me, the awkward situation which we could also call 'The Talk'," - this caused Quatre to smirk a little - "so what do you think that's missing?"

"If we're officially in a relationship now, then I'm very disappointed."

Trowa made a face. "… Why?"

"We never kissed along the way," Quatre said softly, moving his face a little closer to Trowa's. "Didn't you miss that?"

"I just never-…"

The sudden feeling of Quatre's lips on his silenced him immediately and he totally forgot what he was going to say. The arms of the blonde man where locked around his shoulders, his body pressed lightly against his… Their lips moved over each other, tongues barely touching, teasing a little for not taking full advantage of their mouths. Trowa moved his arms up and down the other man's back, loving the feeling of Quatre in his arms, so close, so warm… _Who would believe that the young Winner could kiss… like _this?

Quatre broke the kiss, panting a little for air. "Now we've had everything."

Trowa could only smile at him and ruffled his hair. "You sure know how to kiss, Mr. Winner."

"Oh come on, don't count yourself out now," the other said with a laugh. He smiled brightly at Trowa and the latter one tried to suppress the heat that went up to his cheeks. "Let's go to sleep. I'm tired."

"…" Trowa gave a nod and both men changed into their pajamas, standing next to Quatre's bed.

"Uhm…" Quatre turned to his new boyfriend and smiled. "Goodnight." With a soft click, he turned off the lights and glided underneath the blankets.

Trowa joined him on the other side and when they were both in bed, he wrapped his arms around the warm body next to him. "Goodnight," he whispered back in Quatre's ear.

**0o0**

During the next early hours in the morning, someone knocked harshly on Quatre's bedroom door.

"Guys?"

Both Trowa and Quatre didn't react, exhausted because of the party the other day. Quatre snuggled a little closer to Trowa and wrapped his arms around his waist, still with a semi-smile on his face, even when he was asleep.

"Hello? Guys, open the door!" The voice got more and more demanding every second.

_Who the hell…? Leave us alone…_ Trowa thought, with a heavy head from sleep. He muffled his head into the pillow next to Quatre's shoulder, trying to ignore the urging voice by the door.

"Open the door… Come on, damn it!"

No response.

"Damn it, I'll let myself in now." The door opened and a figure appeared in the bedroom, only his silhouette seeable in the dark room. He moved closer to the bed and shook Quatre's shoulder. "Hey, wake up!"

"What…" Quatre turned away from the figure's hard grasp and moved closer to Trowa.

"Quatre! You have _got_ to let me sleep in here, if necessary I'll sleep on the damn floor!"

_What the hell is he doing here in the middle of the night…_ "… Go away."

"Damn it, listen to me! I don't want to sleep in the living room anymore! It's a complete injustice that _I_ have to sleep _in there_, with all that… stuff!"

"… What d'ya mean?" Trowa asked sleepily, draping his arm over Quatre's chest and trying to lift his head.

"Barton, is that you?" The face of Wufei was revealed when he moved closer, by the light that came through the curtains.

"… Who else?" Trowa grunted.

"Quatre, for example," Wufei said, quirking his eyebrows. "But what I was trying to say is that I want to sleep in here!"

"Why?" Trowa said with a sigh, rubbing his eyes.

"There are noises."

Silence.

"Wufei… Just go away. We all need our sleep."

"Yes, as do I! I can't sleep in the living room!"

"…" Trowa didn't reply anymore and let his head fall down again on the pillow. Quatre mumbled contently and pressed his cheek against Trowa's.

"Barton, you're being unreasonable. Where's Quatre? Take me to him, he'll understand. I can hear noises, damn it! _Their_ noises, to be exact!" he added, starting to sound really frustrated now.

"… I'm not gonna wake him. He's exhausted."

"Where is he? Damn it, tell me!"

"You really want to know? If I tell you, will you go away then?"

"Yes, tell me. Now. I want to sleep _anywhere_ but there."

"At the moment, he's in my arms."

"WHAT? Are you two in one bed?"

"No, we're in separate beds." _This is annoying. So _annoying. "Now go away."

"I'll get you for this, Barton. You just wait! I'll sleep in the damn bathtub! It's a complete injustice that you didn't even…"

Trowa made a dangerous sounding grunt and pointed with his free arm at the door.

"You are all lunatics! Normal persons like me cannot even get a good night of sleep…" Wufei's muttering was cut off when the door closed.

_And then that Wufei's talking about crazy…. He should take a look at himself. _Trowa smiled to himself, drifting off to sleep again, with his new love close to him, right in his arms. _Peace. Finally._

**0o0**

"Good morning."

"Tro, it's already afternoon," Duo said with a big smirk. "Had a nice sleep?"

Trowa nodded and rubbed his head, still a little sleepy. He looked around the room and noticed that it was still an absolute mess. Plates, cups, leftovers, a few cans of beer… Everything was scattered across the floor, couch and some small tables. Duo had settled himself on the couch, almost disappearing in all the cushions and blankets that Wufei had probably used to sleep on.

"… Is there anything…"

"To eat? Heero's getting something some fresh bread and stuff at the supermarket. And there're still some leftovers. And beer." With a grin, he held up a can to Trowa. "Cheers."

"Duo… Where's Wufei?"

"I am right here, thank you very much." Wufei appeared, holding up a warm cup of coffee. "And I'm very, very awake."

"Oh, Fei, just shut up man. It's nothing to fuss about."

"It is! You and Heero, it was terrible to listen at! And Barton over there was maybe even _worse_." Wufei glared daggers at Trowa and gulped down his coffee.

"Tro, please tell me what you did to make him so angry. I never, ever, in my whole life, heard him say that there was anything worse than to listen to mine and Heero's night activities." He winked and beckoned Trowa. "C'mon on, tell me! Then I'll have a spare prank for later."

"Good morning everyone!" came a cheerful voice, and Quatre entered the room, drying his still damp hair with a towel. "Did you all sleep well?"

"Oh, I did sleep just fine!" Duo said, sticking up his thumbs. "But Mr. Justice over here had a rough night in the bathtub, right, eh Fei?" He smirked.

"Quatre, listen to me. You're my friend and I don't intend to harm you one little bit because you were asleep last night," Wufei said, coming closer to Trowa while talking to Quatre.

"What are you talking about?" Quatre folded up his towel and started to collect all the garbage to put it in the container.

"Your nasty and irritating boyfriend!" Wufei spat out. "I know, you can't help it, but I'm personally gonna kill…"

"Oh my god Wufei, you're jealous!" Duo squealed with a wink at Trowa.

Everybody looked at Duo in complete surprise and Quatre dropped a plate.

"What?"

"Yeah man, I've seen this behavior hundreds of times before." Duo stood up and wrapped his arm around Wufei's shoulders. "Don't worry, it's perfectly normal. I know that ya see Quatre as your best friend, but you should accept that he has needs of his own. He's gonna settle down some time and you really shouldn't be upset about that. Poor boy. I know how you feel."

"_You_ don't know how _I_ feel!" Wufei backed away from Duo. "You're insane!"

Duo shook his head and sighed. "I'm so sorry Quatre. He's still in the state of denial."

"I am not! What are you waffling about? You're crazy! The only thing I want to do is let Barton be chained to a bathtub for the rest of his life… What the hell are you staring at me!"

"Is it true, Wufei?" Quatre asked, his brow frowned a little. "Am I neglecting you as a friend?"

"NO! You're all crazy!" Wufei screamed, turning around with his hands in the air. "I'm leaving, right now!"

"But Wufei, you should just tell that sort of things to me. I mean, we're friends!" Quatre followed Wufei to the door. "Come on, what's wrong?"

Duo tried desperately not to choke on his braid, which he used to stifle his laughter. He walked to the window and didn't even dare to look at Quatre's attempts to let Wufei talk about the non-existent jealousy.

"Uh, Quatre…"

"What is it, Trowa?"

"Maybe it helps when you let Wufei think about… it… on his own, alright?" Trowa shot a glance at the choking Duo and grinned in himself. _That Duo's really a clever guy, all right._

"Oh, okay. Are you sure you're alright, Wufei?"

"YES!"

The door opened and Heero appeared. "Hey. I brought food."

"Heeeeroo!" Duo flew to his boyfriend's side and hugged his arm. "Did you bring baozi's?"

"No. Here."

"Oh, you're so cruel. I bet that Wufei would've liked some, right Fei? Oh, thanks for the sandwiches!"

"I do not talk to you anymore." Wufei turned his back to Duo and the latter one smirked.

"Come on guys, I'll make the table ready." Quatre moved forward with clean plates and cups. "Who wants coffee? I've got tea and milk too."

"Here, I'll help you." Trowa touched Quatre's hand and handed him the coffee pot.

"Thanks."

"So… Are you getting over it already, Wufei?"

"I'm not listening."

**0o0**

"Whew… I'm happy that you stayed to help me clean up. I'm still surprised at what a mess five guys can create on a simple birthday party…" Quatre sat down on the couch with a sigh and looked around the room.

"Yes, quite a lot it seems." Trowa also seated himself on the couch, and then turned to Quatre. "Quatre?"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Have you been befriended to these guys for a long time?"

Quatre nodded. "Yes, it's really a long time now. I know Wufei since kindergarten school, and Heero is with us since high school. Duo came later on, when we were seventeen or so, but there immediately was some sort of 'click'." He smiled at the memories. "It didn't take a long time for Heero and Duo to get together."

"Funny. They're sometimes the complete opposite of each other…"

Quatre burst out in laughter. "You don't know about Sally, do you?"

The green eyed man quirked his eyebrows. "No."

"Wufei and Sally… were in a relationship last year, but it kind of ended when Wufei was too stubborn to really do things with her. He doesn't really like romantic things, like going out for dinner, but she does. And he didn't want to give in, so they got a huge fight."

"Did they ever got into their relationship again?"

"No, but they still like each other. And in that one thing, they're very similar: they're both too stubborn to go to the other to apologize and maybe try to restart their relationship again." Quatre smirked. "And the worse part is, that they see each other every day. At work."

Trowa chuckled softly. "I can imagine, if she's like him on that part, that the whole building burns from their glares to each other."

"Yeah, exactly! They both work at the building of International Business: Sally as a consultant and Wufei is a reporter."

"And how about Heero and Duo?"

"What kind of work they do?"

Trowa nodded.

"Well, Heero is considered a novelist, since he wrote quite a few bestsellers. Like all the books of '_The Gundam Saga'_. He always says he doesn't see himself like that and, by the way, he stopped writing. He has opened a garage, which has always been a great dream of him. And with the money from the books, he can do that now. He's a master with machinery, you know? Cars, computers, high technology, security… Ask him and he can do it."

"His descriptions of the machinery in _'The Gundam Saga'_ are indeed very accurate."

"Yeah, that's right. And Duo… Well, Duo is absolutely like Duo in his jobs: you'll never know when he works at another job again. Last month, he worked at the Ice Cream Store, and now he works in a bookstore. But he's probably going to end up in Heero's garage," Quatre said with a wink.

Trowa smiled silently.

"What about you?" Quatre suddenly asked. "I know you work at the library, but you mentioned something about a circus and your sister too."

"Ah, yes. The circus. My parents got killed in an accident when I was still very young… Catherine, my sister, was somewhat older and we ended up at the circus, having no home or other family members that could take care of us. I got trained as an acrobat, and Cathy has a most wonderful knife throwing act."

"She still works there?"

Trowa nodded. "She has a fairly high position, right under the head of the circus. And I… I wanted to see some more of the world, so I left the circus two years ago. Now I live in a very small little flat and I work at the library." He turned his head to Quatre. "But I'm very happy, although I miss Cathy a lot."

"Do you have good contact with her? Maybe you could visit her sometimes in the weekends, when the circus isn't too far away."

"We send letters to each other… But not much, maybe one in a month. And… we call each other, of course."

"Well, if you miss her so much, then just go visiting her!" Quatre said with a smile. "When you always know where she is, that shouldn't be such a problem."

Trowa bent his head and looked at his hands. "It's just… I don't know if she'd like it to see _me_."

"Of course she would," the other man said, placing his hand on Trowa's shoulder. "You haven't seen her in a long time, have you?"

Trowa shook his head. "Last time was a year ago. But I just feel a little… awkward, going to the circus and knocking there on the door… Hi, all remember me? I was the acrobat that was with Cathy, but I never said a word."

Quatre shrugged. "You could try."

Trowa didn't answer him. _I'm not so sociable as you are, Quatre._

"Oh, come on, Trowa! I can come with you, if you want." The blonde man stood up, brushed off his clothes, and walked to the mirror.

"… Do you want to?"

"Well," Quatre said, checking his hair in the mirror, "I think I'd like to meet her. Does she know of my existence?"

Trowa shook his head. "No."

"Now you've got an excuse to go to her!" Quatre exclaimed, grabbing Trowa at his arm and pulling him up. "You can introduce me to her."

"Quatre, I don't really think…"

"Well, I _do_ think that you need to visit her. Remember this well: I always know how others feel," he said with a grin. "Now come on, put on your coat and call her to ask where the circus is."

"Do you want to go right now?"

"Of course. You're in my grasp now."

"But…" Trowa started, but was silenced by a finger on his lips.

"Be quiet. Trust me, this'll be a good idea."

"And if I don't trust you?" Trowa said, one hand on his hip and his head tilted to the right.

"You do this on purpose, don't you?" Quatre said with a soft sigh, letting his head hang a little.

"I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no idea…"

Quatre almost smashed his head forward to meet Trowa's lips in a mind fogging kiss, that was over far too soon for Trowa's likes. _Oh my _GOD_, do that again._

"Well, are you coming with me, or not?"

Trowa grinned. "Actually, I think… yes."

**0o0**

Looking out of the window of the car, Trowa suddenly felt some sort of longing to see his sister again. He looked beside him, at the young man that so suddenly had appeared in his life. Quatre was staring out of his window too, and seemed deeply lost in thought. With a small smile, Trowa turned his head back to his own window again. How was it possible that Quatre seemed to pick up small things about him that he thought that were important?

Actually, since the first time he'd seen Quatre in the library, something had been switched on in his head. He'd always been a loner, and didn't always enjoy it to talk to others. Of course, there were exceptions, like Emily for example. She was nice and funny, and she never judged people on their outer behavior or looks. So, when he'd first entered the library, looking very gloomy and grumpy, she'd just come up to him and started to talk. Since then, they'd become sort of friends.

The other exception was Quatre, of course. Conversations with him were always nice, or turned out to have a nice outcome. In their ways of talking, Trowa and Quatre were the complete opposite. Social Quatre and loner Trowa. _Maybe that is what binds Heero and Duo too. What the one doesn't have, the other does. I already know that Cathy will be surprised when she sees Quatre… He's different from any friend I've ever had._

"Trowa? I think we're here," Quatre said, breaking off the other's thoughts.

Trowa looked up and spotted the big, yellow with green circus tent. "Yes, this is it."

"Rashid, you can stop the car. You know what I told you, right? I think we'll stay here for sometime, so you'll be able to visit Ahmed in the nearby town."

Rashid turned off the engine and smiled at his young boss. "I shall give him your greetings, Quatre-sama."

"But of course!" Quatre said, a beaming smile on his face. "Tell him that he should come back into duty soon; we all miss him at the office."

"I was already planning to say that," Rashid said, grinning widely.

Quatre got out of the car and pulled Trowa's door open. "C'mon," he said with a light smile.

When they were both out of the car, Quatre waved at Rashid, who turned around and drove back to the town that they'd come through on their way to the circus. The town where Ahmed lived, of course.

Suddenly, without the roaring engine, it had become very quiet on the big pasture where the circus tent was placed. Trowa looked up at the clouds: that definitely predicted rain for that evening. Suddenly, he felt Quatre's hand close around his and looked up, seeing a smiling face looking at him.

"C'mon, Trowa. With me around, you've gotta face your sister sometime."

Trowa smiled, tightened his hand around Quatre's, and started to walk into the direction of the tent. He still wondered about what Catherine would think about his new boyfriend…

**0o0**

A woman with beautiful, curly auburn hair placed another box with food next to the lions' cages, wiping the sweat off her brow. Finally finished with the job, she cleaned her hands and walked out of the tent, in the direction of the trailers, but stopped right in her tracks when she saw _them_.

They were walking towards the big circus tent, but suddenly, the brown haired man stopped. He turned towards the somewhat smaller, blond haired man, and held both of his hands between his own. His mouth was moving, but she didn't hear his words. She did saw the smiling face of the blond haired man, and the gesture of affection when he ran his hand over the brown haired man's cheek.

Blinking a little in shock, she stared at her brother who slowly stepped forward and took the other man in his arms, gently stroking his bangs out of his face. Then, he leaned forward, pressing his lips to the other's. They both closed their eyes and got lost in their own little world, not noticing her, of course.

When Trowa broke the kiss, he took the other's hand in his again and turned around. When he saw Catherine, his eyes grew big and he let out a soft gasp of surprise.

"Cathy!"

**End Chapter Five**

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A/N:** Gasp, people, gasp. Chapter five is finally finished. In this chapter, I tried to give all the Gundam boys a little more background in what they do in this world. I mean, if you make an AU, at least try to make a good one, right? Sorry about the lack of romance in this chapter, but expect more in chapter six.  
Oh, yes: does everyone agree with the Wufei x Sally pairing? I thought they were really funny to watch during the show. And about the age difference: come on, love is love, right? Please tell me your opinions. 

Efreak.

**Thanks to: **DutchDuelist, fruits of eos, Maskelle, Ed-N-Envy's Matchmaker, jess-eklom, shikonjewl, joyce, Setg'-in, Lain-sama, ChopStickGirl120, The Tears of Ages and O.Forgetful.O. for leaving their reviews on this story.

**Extra thanks to all the readers (and I also mean those who don't review) for sticking with the story, even when I don't update in ages. Thank you.**


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